Turnabout Bourgeois
by Charlett
Summary: A middle classman is found drowned in his bathtub, and his wife is up for his murder. Phoenix Wright is on the case! There's just one problem... how do you trust a client who doesn't trust you...?
1. Trial Former

Alright! It's a brand new beginning! I wanted to write a Phoenix Wright trial fiction, after all the stupid crap I've done so far, so here it is! Please read and enjoy. If you don't like it... I'm sorry or something... Hope you guys enjoy it!

Oh yeah, some profiles of OCs may be a plus... Here's the lowdown on some of the characters you may not know about!

Marius Bourgeois: 31 Years old. The Victim of this case, Marius was a french middle class man who recently moved to the country with his good friend and butler, Thomas Eallair. He was found drowned in his bathtub, and his wife is suspected of the murder.

Macy Bourgeois: 26 Years old. Phoenix's Client during this case, and Marius' former wife. Macy was a lower class woman who married into a higher family, taking the family name "Bourgeois". She was Marius' maid, but became his wife soon afterwards. She absolutely hates anyone who would assume that she and Marius were not equal in all respects. Anyone who would say she was "under him" will receive a swift kick to the groin, male or female.

Thomas Eallair: 29 Years old. A Witness during this case. Marius' butler, and good friend of the victim. He was, much like Macy, distraught about the news of his employer's death, and is SURE that Macy was the one who killed him. He hates Macy with a passion, and tends to call her "Macy the Harpy".

Also, before you guys go "Huh?" I might as well tell you guys. Pearl Fey is a character that appears in the second Phoenix Wright story. You'll pick up her character quickly enough. I couldn't NOT add her, seeing as how she's a very central character, so I hope you guys who don't know her may enjoy her and stuff.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my long stuff. Now, without further ado:

READ ON!

---

Macy Bourgeois whistled happily as she walked down the hallway of her home in the semi-suburbs. She was applying black gloves, ready to head outside for a country ride in her car, when she walked right past the bathroom on the second floor. There was an air of disgust on her face when she looked down and saw that the carpet below her was sopping wet, "Thomas!" She shouted, looking back down at the carpet as she called for her butler, "Did you leave the faucet on when you were cleaning the guest bathroom?"

There was a faint reply as she fuddled with the doorknob to the room, "Of course not, My Lady!" The butler, Thomas Eallair replied from the first floor, raising his voice so his mistress could hear him, "I am most certain, however, that Master Marius was in there last. He said he didn't want to be disturbed." Macy hissed at the doorknob, which was in fact locked. She had known her husband, Marius Bourgeois, to fall asleep when he took baths, but usually he stopped the water from running before hand! With a sigh, she pulled a credit card out of her tiny purse, which seemed just large enough to hold said card, and began unlocking the door in other, much ruder, ways than simply opening it. She gave a happy cry when the door was unlocked and she turned the knob, "Marius, just what do you think you're…?"

She stopped, mid-sentence, as she stared at the sight before her. The bathtub's faucet was running water into the overflowing bathtub, and the water was spilling everywhere. Yet this was not what was making Macy stop dead in her tracks. Instead it was her husband, fully dressed in his "night-out-to-the-bar-with-the-boys" attire; his head was submerged underwater, and Marius' wife understood immediately what had happened. Her husband… had been murdered… The only thing she could think of doing in such a situation was scream…

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney  
Case 1; Turnabout Bourgeois  
Day 1, Trial Former

**April 13, 9:34 AM  
District Court  
Defense Lobby No. 4**

"Nick, are you ready to go?" Maya Fey asked, smiling directly at the man next to her. Ah, I mean, she was smiling at me. My name is Phoenix Wright, an… ace attorney, if you will. It's been a few years since I was a rookie attorney, on my first case, but I've finally got the experience of an actual defense attorney with proper experience! If only others believed in my abilities as much as my partner did… "I'm totally psyched today! You're going to cream the competition like you always do!"

"He'd better…" Came a drawl from across the room. My client seemed to be filing her acrylic nails down as she continued speaking, "I've never relied on anyone else in my life. It's so hard to put my trust in someone else…"

"But Ms. Macy…" Maya said, thinking to herself, "You were married to the victim for nearly a year… Didn't you place your trust in your husband?"

"I don't trust him anymore," Macy, the defendant in the upcoming case (and my client), replied nonchalantly as she snapped her pocket mirror closed and slipping it in her tiny purse, which seemed only large enough to hold said mirror, "He's dead for less than a few days and he's already haunting me. If Marius even cared about me, wouldn't his spirit be keeping others from suspecting me of his murder? Not that I believe in spirits or anything…" I sighed a bit at my client's nasty rebuttal. This was the last time I let Maya convince me of accepting a client without meeting her before hand.

---

"_Nick! Nick, we really should defend this Macy woman!" My partner had told me yesterday, as excited as she ever was, even more so than normal, now that I think about it. Pearl Fey, Maya's young cousin, snuggled closer to me as we watched the television together. Maya paced back and forth as I continued to deny her wish, "Come on! What have you got to lose?"_

_I was about to say "My reputation", but decided to give her a chance. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye as I flipped the channels through the different news stations that blared illogical findings of Pluto at me, "Give me three good reasons," I answered._

"_Well, she's rich!" Maya said, tapping her cheek in thought (Pearl seemed to brighten up at this fact, turning around and propping herself up on the back of the couch to face Maya. It had been a while since they defended a RICH person!), "She's so rich she even has a butler! She said she'd give us twice the amount of money that we normally ask for!"_

"_Two more," Was my only reply, making Pearl settle back down in my lap, prepared to listen for the outcome of the battle. Maya racked her brain as I continued to stare indifferently at the television. Apparently there was a star being questioned for a suspected DUI. Another good reason not to have a driver's license…_

"_Ah… um… Ah! There's very little evidence against her! Apparently, the butler's the only real witness to the case!" Maya proclaimed, "It'll be a cinch to pulverize the competition!"_

"_One more," I said, crossing one of my legs over the other as I switched to yet another channel, this one showing a lion pride tearing apart a young gazelle (Pearl hid her eyes with a groan of "Ewww" at that sight). Now I was only halfway indifferent about this new case. I was hoping (just a bit, mind you) that Maya's next good reason was so good it'd make me WANT to go out and defend this woman. Perhaps she was a kind young woman who just needed assistance, or perhaps she was a woman of merit who was fond of giving her defense attorneys tips… Hey, I had to pay the rent SOMEHOW, and these two dependants (practically…) weren't helping much._

"_I… uh…" Maya seemed to be twiddling her thumbs, her cheeks pink and her brow glistening with sweat, "When she called… asking for the job… I already… kinda said… yes…" I nearly crashed to the floor, defeated, and Maya rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Hahaha! I just assumed you'd agree, so I said that you'd do it… you really don't… MIND… do you?"_

"_Mr. Nick!" Pearl cried, clapping her hands together at the prospect of hearing of another case neatly solved by yours truly, "You can do it! You can do it, Mr. Nick! Please?"_

_I sighed… I really wished I could have gotten out of this… but if Maya (speaking in my name) already accepted the woman's plea… then there was nothing much I could do. I looked defeated, and nodded, "Yeah…" I finally replied, "Yeah, I'll do it…" Maya cheered and Pearl clapped her hands._

"_Hurray, Mr. Nick! You're the greatest!" The young Fey cried happily, "You're the greatest!"_

---

"You can do it, Mr. Nick!" Pearl cried happily in the lobby, pumping her arms in the air with a shout, "You can do it! You're the greatest!"

("The greatest?" I repeated to myself in disbelief). I sighed again as I checked my watch. There were only a few more minutes until it was time to enter the court. I figured it might be wise if we got in there early, rather than late, "Alright then, Pearl, you wait here for a second, Maya and I'll head on in. You can go sit with Gumshoe in the stands, right?"

"Uh huh!" Pearl replied, whirling around and rushing from the lobby, off to where she was supposed to meet with the detective, "I'll be fine, you have fun!"

"Just take care of yourself, Pearl!" Maya said sternly as she followed me though the doorway to the courtroom. This was it… it was time to show my client just what I could do…

---

**January 18, 10:00  
District Court  
Courtroom No. 2**

The audience in their raised seats settled down once the judge brought his gavel down, "This court is in session for the trial of Ms. Macy Bourgeois," He stated, just like he always did.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," I blinked ("That voice seems familiar!" I thought.). Sure enough, across the way was a balding prosecutor, with coke bottle glasses and a cocky grin. I began to sweat ("It… it can't be! Winston Payne?" I moaned to myself.).

Catching myself, I cleared my throat and nodded, "T… the defense is ready, Your Honor," I said, preparing for the trial at hand.

"Hey, Nick," Maya whispered in my direction, rubbing her cheek with her finger in thought, "Isn't that Winston Payne? He was that person who prosecuted during some of your trials, huh?"

"I doubt it could be anyone else… he is rather… unique…" I replied.

"Then that's great!" Maya said, smiling. She then smiled wickedly, "He's a pushover! You're going to be able to mash him into dirt!"

"Y… yeah… I guess" I replied, rubbing my temple with my fingers.

"Mr. Wright, are you quite alright?" I snapped out of my sweat filled stupor when the judge addressed me, "You seem to be… out of sorts today…"

"Ahhh… it's just…" I gave a faux chuckle, "it's… just hot in here today… Your Honor." Just great, that had got to be the worst excuse I had ever come up with…

"Nick, are you sure you're feeling well?" Maya asked, looking genuinely worried for my state of health.

The judge shook his head, "Perhaps you need to be reminded of the case at hand? I say that a few questions are in order, to make sure you're ready for this." I felt like passing out right there. So much for not making a fool of myself… "Question 1, who is the defendant in this case?"

"Hah… Your Honor… I'm not THAT delusional just yet," I replied, although I was still sweating buckets, "That's Macy Bourgeois."

"Correct, now, question number 2, how was the victim, Macy's husband Marius Bourgeois, murdered?"

("Hah!" I celebrated within as I smiled, "This one's easy! Except for one slight problem… I completely forgot!")

"Niiiiiiiick!" Maya cried when she saw me fidgeting even more now (and she probably noticed me not answering, either), "Come on, you aren't feeling THAT sick, are you?"

I continued to chuckle, but my act wasn't cutting any mustard with my partner. I guessed an explanation was in order, "Well, it's just that… it's been so long since I was in an actual trial… I must have gotten too cocky… maybe I should review the Court Record again?"

Maya sighed unhappily, "I didn't know you could be more childish than me sometimes…" ("Hey!" I cried inwardly at that statement.) "Just remember, you need to check the Court Record frequently, you never know when the evidence presented will be useful in the upcoming trial, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it…" I muttered, looking back over the file, "Ahhh! Here it is!" I was looking over Marius' autopsy report. Apparently he died around 7:30 to 9:00 PM on the 11th of April, and his cause of death was suffocation by water inhalation (that is, he drowned, apparently), "The victim was killed by drowning in his own bathtub, Your Honor."

The judge nodded at my answer, "Indeed. Well, Mr. Wright, you look like you're feeling a lot better!" He was certainly right… reviewing the Court Record always made me feel better. If that was the case, perhaps it was like a legal drug?

"Hah, if you keep acting like a rookie, Mr. Wright, you're going to get pulverized!" Payne said with a smirk, fanning his forehead with his hand. Back in the day, he used to flip his hair up that way… but now, with the lack of hair on him nowadays… "The new and improved Winston Payne will show you that you should never let your guard down!"

("Yeah, you keep smiling, Payne…" I muttered to myself, "You'll get your just desserts soon enough…")

"My opening statements are this:" The prosecutor said smugly when the judged urged him to continue, "With the evidence, and the witness, that I possess, I will convince this court that the defendant, Macy Bourgeois, killed her husband, the victim, Marius Bourgeois."

The judge nodded, "That certainly seems straight forward. You may bring forth your first witness!"

"The prosecution brings forth the defendant, Macy Bourgeois!" Payne replied, rather dramatically. It would BE dramatic, if it weren't for the fact that his voice sounded like a bug that had recently been squashed. I had the (almost) overwhelming urge to dig into my ear to stop it from ringing. Macy looked at me, as if to ask, "What should I do?"

I thought quickly, and decided there was nothing to gain by denying Payne his request. I nodded silently, and she stood, approaching the podium. She looked at the prosecutor, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'd like to ask you something, Ms. Bourgeois," The prosecutor said, ignoring Macy's innocent look, "What was your relationship with your husband, Marius Bourgeois?"

"What kind of question is that?" Macy asked, looking indignant, "I loved Marius the moment I met him. He was the only man I ever trusted. I would never want to hurt him…"

She stopped when Payne raised his hand to stop her from continuing, "That's enough, Ms. Bourgeois. I need to direct your attention to this," He pulled a paper from who knows where, and displayed it for all to see, "Your Honor, this is the victim's most recent will, which was found in a drawer within his desk in his study ("That certainly was… precise…" I muttered to myself). I would like to draw your attention to the person he will be leaving his entire estate to."

The judge seemed interested; I seemed to be sweating. The one presiding over the court took the paper in his hands and read it off, "It appears everything will be left to 'the one I love, Macy'."

Macy raised her eyebrow, and Maya and I blinked at each other. That didn't seem very incriminating. However, before the defense team could celebrate this knowledge, our opponent spoke up again, fanning himself as he did so, "Perhaps you could read a little lower than that… at the person who shall inherit if Ms. Bourgeois cannot take the money."

I felt the beads of sweat accumulating as I heard the judge speak again, "Ahh! It says here that 'if my wife cannot claim my estate, for any reason, I leave everything I own to my retainer… M-Macy?"

There was murmuring amongst the audience, and they stopped only after the judge slammed his gavel down, "Order! Order in the court! Mr. Payne, what are you getting at? This will has mentioned the defendant twice!"

"That can be explained, Your Honor," The prosecutor replied, "You see, it is obvious that the victim had his lawyer write up this will due to his slipping sanity. Why else would he have his lawyer write her name twice?"

"S… Slipping sanity?" Macy cried, her eyes wide, "But, but Marius was as fit as a fiddle!"

"Objection!" I shouted, "You can't possibly say he was losing his mind without proper evidence from a doctor who thoroughly examined him!"

"Objection!" A retort from across the room, "Whether or not the victim was sane remains to be seen…" Payne replied. He then began to fan himself with a smirk, "The point of the matter is that Marius Bourgeois used his wife's name twice in the will, and referred to her as a 'retainer'. Of course, it goes without saying that any wife would be mad after finding out their husband thought of them that way."

"I can't be sure where this is going, Nick," Maya said under her breath, looking mighty angry at Payne's speeches, "But I can tell that it's not going to get much better! Isn't there something you can do to discredit him? You must have something up your sleeve!"

I racked my brain, thinking of what I could use to fight back, and I nodded, "I… just what can I say? I just can't go shouting 'Objection!' without backing it up with something!"

"Great…" Maya whined, looking a little sick, "The one time you DO look before you leap…"

"And so, after the defendant found out about the will, it goes without saying that a vibrant young woman like her refused to be acknowledged as her husband's 'retainer'. Her anger must have been great. Great enough… to kill."

"Nick! This is bad!" Maya cried next to me, "Just look at Macy!"

Oh man… if looks could kill… Just seeing Macy in her beautiful dress befitting a woman of her status, I couldn't figure her to be such a rowdy woman. However, the glare she was giving Payne was enough to make ME want to head for the hills, let alone him, "How dare you!" Macy shouted, slamming her fists on the podium before her, "How dare you say something like that? My Marius! Marius! I would never… NEVER… hurt him! I loved him! I loved him, dammit!"

She then broke down into sobs, placing her head into her hands and resting them upon the podium. Every once in a while, the court could hear her mumble things like "Didn't do it…" "I loved him…" and, "Someone else must have…"

The gavel was brought down, "The defendant will remain calm through this trial!" The judge shouted.

"Niiiick, do something!" Maya hissed.

There was nothing to say. The only thing I could do was try to find something to use, "I, um…" I sifted through the court records as I heard my client crying at the witness stand. The autopsy report, the will… I suddenly blinked at the will, and looked up, "Wait a minute, OBJECTION!" I pointed at the prosecution, "How can you prove that the defendant saw this will? This will was kept secret from his wife in his study, was it not? How could she have figured out what was written in it, then?"

Payne gave a cry, his eyes wide. He certainly seemed smug, but once you fought back, he always flopped as quickly as he inflated, "Well, you see…" He hemmed and hawed just a bit. This was the kind of attitude that made him look rather… silly, "It's… it's rather simple! She just found it in his study! He never kept his important documents locked away!"

I found this piece of information nice, and I stored it away in my mind as he continued, "Even so, evidence is never enough to convict a person! You see, there was a witness to her crime!"

"A witness?" Maya asked, rubbing her cheek in thought, "Who else would be at the home during the murder? Maybe their children?" I didn't bother to mention to her that the two never had children. They were only married half a year, after all.

The gavel was brought down, "The defendant…" The judge looked directly at Macy as she continued to sob on the podium, "Does not seem prepared to finish this trial. So we will take a ten minute recess as the prosecution and defense get their witness and client, respectfully, ready to continue." The judge brought down his gavel once again, "For now, court is adjourned!"

---

**April 13, 1:35 PM  
District Court  
Defense Lobby No. 4**

"This is bad, Nick! It actually looks like Macy's going to be declared guilty!" Maya cried, looking quite angry, "That 'new and improved' Payne is beginning to get on my nerves!"

"Mr. Nick, you didn't look so well down there…" Pearl said quietly as she entered the lobby, hoping not to sound discriminating against my tactics. Ever the polite one, that girl was, "If you aren't feeling good, couldn't you ask for them to suspend the trial for the day? Maybe you'll feel better after a bath and a good night's sleep!"

"I don't care if he does it AFTER this trial, but I swear, he had better get me declared innocent today! No wonder you haven't gotten that many cases! You're a total buffoon!" Macy continued to rant, even as Maya began looking worried.

"Nick… you really aren't doing this on purpose, are you?" My partner asked. I was really beginning to scare everyone, apparently… Well, I was even scaring myself, so it was understandable.

"Of course I am!" The women looked up at me as I smiled happily down at her, "I was just giving the court some… dramatic tension! That's it!" I lied through my teeth. I had only eight minutes to pull myself together. It had been a while since I had been in a case… it was about time I started acting like a REAL lawyer, and lie, "Don't you worry. I'm going to be doing just fine when we get back in there. You… you're going to have to trust me, Ms. Bourgeois, just like I trust you to be innocent."

Macy seemed taken aback by my mentioning my trust in her, and she looked away, "I… I see…" She murmured, "Well, I'll see how you do when we get back in there. I only trust people who deserve it, and the only person who's deserved it was Marius."

"Hey, speaking of which," Maya murmured, looking in deep thought, "You said that you loved Marius 'Since you met him', or something like that. Why was that, anyway? What made you trust him?"

Macy looked over at Maya, and sighed, "Well, it's just that… when I was younger, I didn't grow up as privileged as my Marius. In fact, I grew up in the slums in town. My parents spent their money flippantly, instead of necessary things like food. In order to quell my stomach, I would, at some points, steal a loaf of bread or two, and sometimes a candy bar, if I really was in the mood for dessert." She gave a light chuckle, but it was mostly to herself. After a moment, she coughed into her hand, and continued, "I could get away with it on some days when I was caught, because I was so little. However, when I got older, it wasn't so easy to shoplift, and one day, I was chased into an alleyway. The shop keeper was mad enough to beat me, it looked like, and he was ready to put me in jail for as long as he could. It was then that…

"Marius came forward, like a knight in shining armor. I guess the illusion was intensified when I saw his silhouette illuminated through the sunlight. He paid the man for the bread I had stolen, and told me to… to work for him."

"He asked you to work for him?" Maya asked, "and you fell in love with him because of that?"

"He was the only one who didn't treat me like an outcast. He was such a wonderful man… and even as I worked with him alongside his butler, Thomas… we fell in love, and he asked me to marry him. I know now, to this very day… that I will never love a man as much as I did Marius…"

"That's so romantic…" Pearl cooed, placing her hands upon her cheeks, as they were beginning to turn a little pink. She was old enough to appreciate that sort of thing, after all.

"I trusted Marius, because he came to me, protected me, and gave me a job when no one else would," Macy began to wind down her speech, and she clasped her hands together, tears running down her cheeks, "It was so hard for me to trust another person since then… but…" She looked up at me, and nodded, "I… if you need me to trust you… I… I may…"

"Well," I said with a shrug, "It's better than nothing, I suppose. No matter what, I'll do my best to defend you."

"And speaking of defending people," Pearl piped up, "It's just about time…"

"Yeah," Maya said, "Don't worry, Nick. Together, no witness can get our client declared guilty!"

I only wished I felt as assured of this fact as my partner, "Yeah, Maya… let's do this." And together, the three of us walked through the door leading back into the courtroom.

To Be Continued…

---

And it's the end of the beginning of this trial! Yay! Can you guys figure out what went on?

If not, then you can just guess by throwing evidence randomly and listening to the judge go, "What are you smoking, Wright?" about fifty billion times either until you get the right one by chance or Macy gets declared GUILTY!

Thank you so much for reading! Reviewing would be a plus!


	2. Trial Latter

Part 2! Hope you guys enjoy the THRILLING CONCLUSION ZOMG!

Or something... anyway:

READ ON!

---

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney  
Case 1; Turnabout Bourgeois  
Day 1, Trial Latter

**January 18, 1:45  
District Court  
Courtroom No. 2**

The judge brought his gavel down, preparing the trial at hand, "The trial will now resume for Macy Bourgeois. Prosecution, your statements, please."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Payne replied, fanning himself, "With this witness, the prosecution will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ms. Bourgeois was the culprit of this heinous crime!"

"A decisive witness, hmmm?" The Judge closed his eyes, as if in deep thought, "Very well then, I ask that the prosecution bring this witness forward!"

"Squash him into the dirt, Nick!" Maya said with a devilish smile on her lips, "Find a contradiction and nail him with it!" I sighed. If only it were as easy done as said…

The man who entered was extremely well kept; he was dressed in a snappy suit and had hair that was slicked back so heavily I could see my reflection in it even from this far away. He entwined his fingers together, and twiddled his thumbs as he stood at the podium, and the faint ghost of a smile could be seen on his face. Payne asked the witness the usual question, "Now then, please give your name and occupation to the court, Witness."

The witness spoke in such a rich French accent I sometimes had trouble understanding just what he was saying, "Ahh, you ah asking for my name? I am Thomas Eallair, ze retainer to ze victeem, Maître Marius Bourgeois." I wondered if Marius spoke a lot like him, now that I thought about it.

"Now then, witness," Payne said, "Please relay to us what happened on the day of the victim's death."

"Ah, what happeened on ze day of ze crime? I see. I will do my best," Thomas said, and he relayed what happened that day to the others in the courtroom:

"-I was making some deenner, a salaad, for Maître Marius zat day. It was zen zat I heard ze thrashing of water, a floor above me.

"-I was very worried for Maître Marius, and dropped my kneef to ze floor and rushed to ze crime! I saw Maître Marius in ze tub, head submehrged under ze water.

"-Searching for hees wife, I saw zat harpy, Macy, attempting to escape from ze crime! She claimed she had not heard ze thrash!

"-I know she was lyingk! She eez a weetch! I say she should be keeled zis day!"

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, pointing dramatically at the furious looking butler, who was cracking his knuckles as he testified, "The witness will refrain from making biased accusations toward the court!"

The judge nodded, "Objection sustained. Witness, please say only the facts." Thomas muttered angrily as the judge then continued, "But there's something that's bothering me. What is this knife you were talking about?"

"Ahh, I can answer that, Your Honor," Payne said quickly, nodding as he continued, "It's here. Just a simple butcher knife, Your Honor." And with that, the prosecutor displayed the evidence in question, "This knife proves that the witness was at his post, where he said!"

("So all I need to do is disprove the fact that he wasn't around during that moment? I think I've got an idea…")

The judge nodded, "The court accepts the knife into evidence," I had to think about how to use this to my advantage, and it was then that the judge turned to me, "The defense may cross-examine the witness."

("Alright," I said to myself, "Just find a contradiction. Not that hard…") I nodded to the judge and placed my hands upon the desk, "Gladly, Your Honor." I glared at the witness, who pursed his lips together as he returned the look I gave him, "Witness… I need you to tell me, why were you using a butcher knife to make a salad? Those knives are used… to cut meat, aren't they? What kind of meat…" I slammed my hands on the desk to emphasize the statement, "Were you trying to cut?"

There was a murmur among the crowds, and the judge slammed his gavel down, "Order! Order in the court! Witness, the defense brings up a valid point! Just what WERE you cutting with that knife?"

Thomas gasped aloud, looking quite flustered. His entwined fingers released each other and they twiddled about on their own as his eyes darted about. He was thinking up a lie to replace the other lie. It didn't matter. Whatever he came up with on that stand, I knew I'd be able to find the contradiction and beat it over his head. Figuratively, of course.

"Ahh, you see… it iz just zat…" Thomas suddenly returned to normal, twiddling this thumbs while his fingers held each other close, "I was making a cheeken salad. I was cutting up ze cheeken at ze time, you see!"

("Oh sure…" I muttered to myself, "This Thomas is hiding something. If only I knew what…") It was then that I suddenly found a better line of questioning, and pressed him on the new fact, "Witness… why do you hate the defendant so much? Aside from her fiery attitude, she doesn't seem like a person one would… hate… that much…"

Thomas stopped twiddling his thumbs, and swerved his eyes to glare at me, his eyes practically shining with a hidden fire, "She took heem away… She took heem away from me… Maître Marius and I, we came here togezer from our homeland… and zen zis… woman, comes and suddenly eet eez all about her!" Thomas' glare did not waver as he continued, "She eez a weetch! A harpy; and I am SURE she eez ze one who killed Maître Marius!" He looked away, glancing sadly down at the podium, "I loved him, you see…"

There was murmuring among the crowd, and my wide eyes threatened to dry out. My mind went blank, and I could barely hear the judge slam his gavel down, bringing order to the court. Maya turned to me, looking in deep thought with her finger upon her temple, "So… Thomas loved Marius… like Macy…?"

"It seems that way…" I murmured. This turned the whole case around! How could I defend Macy, saying that she loved Marius, when Thomas loved him as well? There must be some reason… some reason… And then, it hit me, "Wait!"

"What is it, Nick?" Maya asked, "Did you find something out?" Oh yeah… This was it! I just had to figure one other thing into this… and then I would have figured the whole case out!

"Thomas! Tell me!" I said, slamming my hands upon the desk, "You clean Marius' study everyday, right? I need you to tell me if you saw that will that was in his desk? After all, Marius never kept his important documents hidden away; you should have seen it while cleaning out his desk, right?"

Thomas seemed shocked, flabbergasted, but only for a moment. He then smiled and shook his head, "So what?" He asked, "I saw zee will, but zat does not matter! My name eez not in ze will. Read it yourself, eet eez so."

"Perhaps you would like to change your testimony to reflect this new statement?" The judge asked. Thomas gave him a proud smirk and nodded.

"With pleasehr!" The butler said:

"-I could gain nozing from ze will. Zerefore, zere is no reason for me to keel Maître Marius, unlike zat harpy, Macy!"

"Nick, the case is riding on this statement!" Maya said with a hiss, "We just have to figure it out. There HAS to be a reason Thomas wanted to kill Marius, no matter how much he loved his employer!"

I racked my brain, there had to be something! Something! I looked down at the will, and blinked at the two times it mentioned the same name, "Macy". It was almost as if they were speaking about two different people… Then, it clicked, "Maya! I've got it!"

"You did?" Maya asked, a smile on her face, "Really? Alright! Show it! Show him the evidence! Show him the evidence of his crime!"

"Witness!" I shouted, pointing directly at Thomas, "Are you certain, absolutely certain, that your name is not written in this will?"

"Objection!" Payne shouted across the way, "There is no 'Thomas' written anywhere on this paper! Of COURSE his name is not in this will."

"You're right, Payne," I replied with a nod, "The word 'Thomas' is not in this will. However, that has nothing to do with what I was asking!" I pointed directly at the witness, "Witness! Tell this court the truth!" I slammed my hands upon the desk, and posed as if preparing for a dramatic close up! "Is your name ANYWHERE on this will?"

Thomas looked scared, his fingers flying, his eyes darting. Whichever way he answered, I had caught him. There was no way this witness could worm his way out of THIS line of questioning! "O… of course not! Eet doez not say 'Thomas' anywhere in zee will! I am not in zee will!"

"Objection!" I shouted, my finger pointing dramatically at the fidgeting butler, "You say you aren't in the will? That is a LIE!"

"Proove eet!" Thomas screamed, sweat falling from his face like rain, "Where am I? WHERE am I?"

"It's here…" I said, quietly and calmly, picking up the will and tapping it lightly, "Where it says 'if my wife cannot claim my estate, for any reason, I leave everything I own to my retainer, Macy'. Thomas Eallair!" I pointed at him once again, "YOU are that Macy!"

"Objection!" Payne screeched, beginning to sweat as well, "That is… impossible! Thomas and… Macy! It's nothing but baseless…!"

"Objection!" I roared in retort, "Marius and Thomas were good friends before coming here to this country!" I elaborated further, "It is enough that I am sure they were on a very informal basis. Now then, can anyone in this courtroom tell me a very informal nickname for 'Thomas'?"

Even Maya thought hard about this question, and Thomas tried in vain to look like he wasn't fazed by my question. It was then that the judge suddenly cried out, "Why, I know! I have a friend named 'Thomas'! I tend to call him 'Macy'!"

"MACY!?" Payne screamed, gasping aloud as Thomas' fingers were twiddling in hyper drive, "That… That can't be possible!"

"Oh, but it IS!" I said, the entire case was coming together, I could see it before me as if I were there the whole time, "You were in love with Marius, but your employer fell in love with someone else. It was only a slap in the face when you figured out she shared the nickname he gave YOU. You were furious. He was 'replacing' you, as it were.

"But you could not kill him jealously. What would you gain? There was something you needed. You needed something… more… and so you bided your time. You waited for the right time. When you saw the will, you knew it was time to strike.

"After killing Marius and leaving to make your chicken salad, you knew you could pin the blame on Macy, simply because of the will! Afterwards, when the will was read, with Macy convicted, you could obtain everything!" I slammed my hands on the desk, "Thomas! YOU killed Marius Bourgeois!"

"Guuurrr…" Thomas had began rapping his fingers upon the podium extremely fast, and he was biting his bottom lip so hard a trickle of blood was running down his chin, "GUURAAAAAAAAUUUURG!!" He then suddenly slammed his hands upon the podium with such force that I could hear the sound reverberate through the entire courtroom. When I thought it was over, he lifted his hands back up, and slammed them back down, which made even Maya duck down and grab at her ears for reinforcement. I shut my eyes closed right when I saw that he was lifting his hands again, and they fell upon the podium one last time.

Finally, it was all over, and Thomas, after releasing all his pent up energy, had none left to even stand properly. His finely slicked hair was coming undone, and he was leaning unsteadily on the podium. He was gasping heavily, and he stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused and half-banked, "It's… not… fair… Marius…

"…Why…?" And with that, he placed his forehead on the podium… and gave up…

---

The judge looked down at the prosecutor, "Prosecution, where is the witness now?"

"In the lobby, Your Honor…" Payne replied, sweating profusely, "He has been detained… but he… doesn't seem to mind. Apparently he keeps saying that he'll 'be with Marius soon enough'."

The judge nodded, his eyes closed, "I see, well then! Could Macy Bourgeois please take the stand?" Maya and I turned towards the defendant's seat, and we could see the woman stand up from her chair. She slowly, almost unsteadily walked towards the podium, walking past me for only a moment. It was then that I saw her eyes. Despite her wavering walk, her eyes were shining, as if she were saying "Thank you". It took only a moment for her to stand upon the podium where she was to hear the judge's verdict. She closed her eyes, and I saw her eyelashes glisten with tears, "Well, I guess there is not much else to speak about this case. The court finds the defendant, Ms. Macy Bourgeois…

"NOT GUILTY!" And with that, he slammed down his gavel, and the audience cheered, grabbing confetti and throwing it around the room. The courtroom was filled with color, and I smiled brightly, but stopped celebrating when I saw Macy's sad face; her tear streaked cheek. The judge nodded and completed his job with a simple, "That is all, court is adjourned!"

---

**April 13, 4:13 PM  
District Court  
Defense Lobby No. 4**

"Mr. Nick, I knew you could do it!" Pearl proclaimed, bouncing up and down in ecstatic joy, "You're the greatest! The greatest!"

I chuckled under my breath, blushing slightly, "I was just… you know… doing my job…"

"But you did it so well, Nick!" Maya said, clapping her hands together, "It's been a while since you solved a case in only one day!"

I smiled at my two friends, and then looked back up to my client, and my face fell when I saw hers. She was crestfallen, and I could tell immediately that she wasn't thinking of her freedom. She was thinking of the rest of her life without Marius. I walked forward in an attempt to console her, but once she looked at me with those tears in her eyes, I locked up, and had no idea what I could say to help her. Eventually, I found my tongue, and was able to say something, albeit something stupid, "I… I'm sorry…"

Macy looked at me, and suddenly, she smiled, "Th… thank you, Mr. Phoenix. Thank you for saving me…"

"Hey," I said with a quick shrug, "It… it was nothing. I was just…"

"Please stop being modest, Mr. Phoenix," Macy said with a smile, "I also wanted to say thank you… for making me realize something very important. You worked so hard and believed in me… it made me realize how I should learn to trust others, as well. You and Marius… taught me a valuable lesson…"

She smiled at me, just before she turned and began to walk from the courtroom, "It'll take a while for me to get used to trusting people…" She stopped for a moment, and turned back to look at the three of us, waiting for her to finish her sentence, "but from now on, Mr. Phoenix, I know I'll trust you…" And with those words said… she was gone.

"Mr. Nick…" Pearl began, looking up at me, a smile on her face, "Can we go out to celebrate, please?" I looked down at her, with wide eyes.

"Yeah, Nick!" Maya chimed in, a huge smile spreading across her face, "Let's go have some burgers! Burgers!"

"Maybe some veggie burgers…" Pearl murmured, looking away. I sighed a little, and nodded at the two.

"Sure," I said, "Why not? Sounds like a great idea!"

"Hurray! Come on, Nick! Hurry up!" And with that, Maya and Pearl were already shooting towards the doorway, intent on getting to Maya's favorite burger joint as quickly as possible. I smiled after them, and finally started after them, begging them to wait up.

That concludes this particular case. I guess it wasn't as groundbreaking as some others I was in… but it did remind me just how important believing in your client was… just like Mia told me, all those years ago… However, soon after this was all over, a new case plopped right into my lap, and it threatened to tear Maya and I apart…

**Turnabout Bourgeois**

**The End**

**---**

And that's the end! I had originally planned to continue this, making it like... oh, you know, another PW game... but I don't know if I'll ever continue... Anyway, tell me what you thought of it. Please review! Thanks.**  
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